


Real Love - Oneshots

by becomingawriter



Series: Real Love Series [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:34:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becomingawriter/pseuds/becomingawriter
Summary: Set of oneshots featuring the life of Steve and Danny as a couple and partners working on Five-0. Eles can happen in any period of time within the seven seasons of the show. They will contain everything, fluff, angst, h/c for both boys and lots of love involved. After all the name of the verse is this, real love.Chapter 1: Coda for Pilot episode.Chapter 2: First weekend of Grace at Steve's house. (original)Chapter 3: Coda for 7x22Chapter 4: Coda for 7x25





	1. I hate him. Or not?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody!
> 
> Still very happy with all the positive feedback I received in my last two histories, especially in the last one. This encouraged me to come back here and write about my crazy thoughts.
> 
> There is much to write in this verse. I like to stay canon in a few things but inevitably write Danny and Steve as a couple will automatically turn them a little OOC, I'm sorry for this.
> 
> I love H/C as you may have noticed. Mostly hurt Steve. I don't know why, but he asks to be beaten to every story. Maybe because he has not received enough comfort in his life and now I try to compensate by turning Danny into his mother hen.
> 
> Speaking of Danny, in the last story he was an idiot. He redeemed himself, but was an idiot for at least half of it. In that oneshot, he'll be the amazing Danny that we love. It's kind of a coda for the pilot episode, but with a twist to fit in my verse. I hope you do not hate it.
> 
> My story takes place shortly after Steve hands Danny the tickets for the weekend with the dolphins. No need to retell the whole story, does not it?
> 
> Default Warnings:  
> \- I do not own H50 or any of its incredible characters.  
> \- English is not my official language, so forgive my mistakes.  
> \- I also do not have beta, so I assume all my mistakes.
> 
> Summary: Danny really hated Steve at first, really. But he also could not get the SEAL out of his mind after meeting him and hell, he knew that was in a lot of problems the second he stopped cursing the crazy man and realized the damn indecisive eyes of the guy. Sometimes blue, sometimes green, sometimes gray, sometimes brown. Damn people with Hazel eyes, why are they always as intriguing as their mutant eyes?

* * *

Who wouldn't have hated Steve if had known the guy as I knew him? Anyone would hate, I was justified in my anger...

First, he invades my crime scene. The first weight investigation I had been given by HPD who openly hated me for being the haole transplant of New Jersey. Six months of hell, of jokes, being denied work in most of the really important cases and when I got the first good case where I could show my potential and ability he just steals from me with a simple call to the governor. As if it were the simplest thing in the world and happened every day.

So, after shooing me out of his house, the bastard shows up in my apartment and drags me into the investigation I was conducting before he thundered in the middle and ripped me out without giving me the time of day.

As maddened as it was all this, he still dragged me to a suspect's house without backup and I was shot and thrown from a window. And not counting the part of having to shoot the said suspect to save his sad ass from being killed.

Not satisfied he gave me an arm-wrench in the middle of the crime scene teeming with HPD cops, the ones who thought I was an idiot, not even caring that I'd just been shot because of him.

I would need to be a saint not to hate such a guy.

And I really hated him. Not the kind of hatred disguised, was true hate. I thought I would never be able to look into his face without wanting to punch that smug face. In fact I did and was a great feeling.

But then I found myself inadvertently observing the idiot. Lost in those damn indecisive eyes. Because of course he would have eyes that which were every hour of a different color, not even the hell of eyes could be normal in that human being. And I found a new diversion looking at him at different times to find out the color his eyes would have. That's when I realized I was in a lot of problems.

As the investigation progressed and he brought more people into the group that was becoming such a task force, I began to notice that behind all that SEAL pose and angry face had a little boy tormented by his father's death.

When I first received the file of the investigation into the death of John McGarrett, I would never have imagined that the son of the police officer had heard the murder of his father while was on the other side of the world defending the country from terrorists. This definitely is enough to turn anyone into a revenge machine without fear of anything.

And the guy really had zero preservation by himself. Ultimately, he ended up shot and beaten to hell by Hesse that would hopefully be shark food on the ocean floor now.

I had been shot in the arm the day before, but the shot the idiot took was serious. He posed for a time as stoic and pretended not to feel anything until the adrenaline rush was over and he began to get unsteady on his own feet. Time to call the paramedics.

He resisted, said it was just a scratch and did not need anyone fuzz on him, he needed to follow the searches for the body of Hesse. I said that if the paramedic released him, he could stay. Which I knew would not happen because the bullet he took in the arm was still there, lodged in that biceps that should be a crime.

The EMT cut the t-shirt he wore and declared that he needed a trip to the ER because the projectile was still lodged in the arm. What I already knew and he did too, but who said he cared about his own health?

I got in my car to the nearest hospital and when I arrived there the nurse informed me that he was being treated in one of the ER's cubicles and that when the doctor had more information I would know.

I sat in the waiting room and forty minutes later a very grumpy Steve appeared, wearing a blue scrub, bandage on the cut above the eyebrow and a sling on the injured arm, he did not even look at me as he passed. As if he blamed me for his deplorable situation right now.

The ungrateful one got in my car without speaking to me even once, as if I were his personal servant. I gave him a pass because his gunshot wound was much more serious than mine and his face looked like he'd gone five rounds with George Foreman and had lost.

Five minutes after we left the ER I heard a low snore and Steve was leaning against the passenger side glass asleep deep. I smiled at the sight. Without all the tension and relaxed by the meds-induced sleep, he seemed much younger than his real age. And I silently admitted to myself that he had a handsome face. Could I be in more problems?

Arriving at his house that still had yellow tape at the entrance I asked if he needed help, which he obviously refused. Then I saw him stagger through the door, open and close the front door of the house and a few minutes later I felt I could go back home.

* * *

The next day he appeared in what would be our HQ. He still looked horrible, his face bruised and his arm sticking in the sling. The shirt he wore made the bandages visible, the damage must have been big, because the dressings had taken all over the shoulder and the shot had been in the arm.

He gave me a couple of tickets to a hotel with activities that would be incredible for Grace and then he beat me for good. The guy was a giant contradiction, but when he worried about my weekend with my daughter, he showed to be tough just outside. And I wanted to get to know that sweet side he was trying to hide behind the imperturbable military officer's shell.

The weekend was amazing as anyone can imagine. But my mind was only half with Grace, the other half was with the idiot injured alone in the house that had recently been the scene of a murder.

I caught myself several times staring at the screen of the cell phone trying to make a plausible excuse to call the guy and find out how he was doing.

Yeah, I'm a mother hen. It is a characteristic of me, if someone I love is in pain I have no other mission in life but to relieve. And yes, I was already thinking of the bastard as someone I loved. My partner very straight, very masculine, absurdly tough and he would give me a shot if he found out what I was thinking about him.

* * *

Monday arrived and we still had no work. The headquarters was being set up, no new high profile case had appeared and our fearless leader was on medical leave.

But in order to ease my conscience telling me to check him out, I went back to McGarrett's house again. Which was completely counter-indicated to my sanity, why the hell of reason I wanted to torture me again with the sight of the man?

I rang the bell and when I was seriously considering turning my back and walking away a pale and clearly fevered Steve opened the door for me. And what was the surprise to see that he had abandoned the sling? None.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" He asked and to his credit he seemed more surprised than rude.

"In Jersey, we usually check on wounded partners, see if it's okay, something called courtesy." I turned my concern away with a speech disguised as irony.

"Uh ... I'm fine ..." He replied adorably bewildered. Was there that I began to discover that all theater of _'I'm very well alone'_ came from the fact that few people had really cared about him by all his life.

"Can I come in a little? Are you alone?" I prayed that the answer would be negative, although I knew it was a huge illusion to think that something could happen between us someday.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, I'm alone" I let out a breath I did not even know I was holding waiting for that answer.

I noticed that he was slightly unstable, of course he was not well.

"Do you want a drink? A beer maybe ..."

"Steve, are you really okay?" Now I was genuinely worried.

"Yeah, maybe a little tired, it's been a few tense days."

"Look, I don't want to sound nosy, but you don't look so good. You look paler than when you left the hospital and where the hell is the sling?"

"Danny..."

"No, not Danny me, I'm a father and I know when someone says that I'm fine but it's not and I'm able to bet you're running a fever, which means infection and you know how dangerous this is with gunshot wounds, is not it? You have medical training don't you?"

"The sling irritates me and I don't have an infection." Of course, he was not going to give in easy.

"Have you changed the dressings? How's the wound?"

"Danny, I'm fine, really. I changed the bandage as best I could anyway."

"What do you mean by _the best I could_?"

"With one arm, I can't do a professional job."

"Okay enough. Sit on this damn couch and let me look at this."

"Danny..."

"No, I'll do it, you chose me as your partner so you take everything from Daniel Williams, including the part that cares when you are hurt."

"I thought you hated me ..."

"I hate you."

"Doesn't seems."

"That's because I'm very compassionate. Now come on, take off that T-shirt I need to have access to wound."

He tried to rip off the white T-shirt he wore but made a horrible grimace of pain and I rolled my eyes at the stupidity of him and did the job, revealing the guy's incredible chest. All right, all I needed, more mental images to torment me every time.

I tried to focus on the task in my hands and carefully peeled the bandage over his shoulder and biceps, as soon as I saw what was underneath I forgot any inappropriate thoughts. The wound was an angry red and crying. Clearly infected.

"Steve, this is infected. Did you take your antibiotics?"

His silence answered all the questions.

"What's the matter with you? They teach how to be a jerk at the SEAL school? Always, _always_ that you get shot and need a damn surgery, you just take the antibiotics so it doesn’t happen!"

I glared at him and the bastard had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I get sick with antibiotics, right? Antibiotics and anesthesia, I can't eat while I'm taking any of them. So, I only stayed with the pain killers and I tried to keep the wound clean, but with one arm it's just hard ..."

The sudden sincerity of the guy only made me lose all the heat in my words. I felt the anger deflate and I rubbed the bridge of my nose, a headache popping up. Little did I know that would be my MO for the years to come alongside the stupid stubborn in front of me.

"Okay, first things first, I'll clean up and put a new bandage on this. Then we'll discuss the rest."

I finished taking off the bandages, gauze, and tape rudely placed around the huge hole in his arm and began the task of assembling the necessary supplies, more gauze, more bandages, tape, antiseptic and cotton.

"I know you should know this but I'll tell you anyway, it's going to hurt." I said looking into the eyes that were brown now. The dim lighting in his living room made the iris darken. He just shook his head in agreement, already holding his breath and preparing to suppress any sign of the pain I knew he was in.

I started the painful task, hurt as much in me as I imagined it hurt in him. A large area around the wound was bright red and hot. I wiped as gently and carefully as possible, but did not miss the several times his breath hitched and he clenched his jaw, suppressing any groan of pain.

"You know, I will not think less of you if a groan of pain comes from your lips. Actually, I'll be happy to know that you're human and not some kind of cyborg or government experiment."

He looked at me with an intensity that scared me and smiled a small smile, unlike the artificial ones he had given since we had known each other. I ended up applying a generous amount of antibiotic cream, a clean gauze pad and bandaging the arm. As soon as I finished I took a look, checking my work.

"Thanks buddy." He said and smiled again. _Shit_. The eyes, the smile, the damn face that even covered in bruises in various colors was handsome. He was completely fucked.

"As I told you, that's called courtesy. Where I come from, you're polite and don't need thanks."

"It's been a while since no one cares about me that way." I looked at him startled, was a glimmer of sincerity I didn't expect. Apparently not him, because he had a startled look on his face as well as he looked at me.

"Okay, Superman, did you last eat when?" I said trying to ease the strange mood that had been formed.

"Uh ... breakfast ... didn't stay on my stomach anyway." He admitted looking at the floor as if it were a weakness to confess that he did not feel well.

"Okay, I'll do something light that you can eat. I can even tolerate your face and have lunch with you."

"Can you cook?" He asked with a wry smile on the face, the idiot. I just rolled my eyes and left my personal temptation in the living room.

* * *

I cooked a light meal consisting of grilled chicken and a salad and he apparently tolerated the food. We talked about amenities and was amazing how easy was to fall into the pattern of arguments whenever feelings were involved.

At one point, I found the abandoned sling in one of the white chairs on the private beach he had on his lanai and convinced him to use it. That would solve the problem of seeing him hold his injured arm all the time. After all the sling is just for that.

Neither he nor I realized that we ended up spending much of the day together. The sun was setting and was then that I realized that spending a whole day with the lunatic who had kidnapped me as partner days ago had not been bad, actually had been fun, almost ... natural.

Now he was clearly disappearing, truly tired, sick of stomach again and a little pale. The fever had receded during the day, but he still looked pretty bad.

"Hey, I think would be a good idea for you to go lie down a little, don't you?" I asked as I watched his exhausted face on the wooden chair next to mine.

"Yes, I think. I don't feel so good anyway. Thanks for the company, partner. I didn't know I needed it so much."

"Look, I know you have this male whole SEAL thing in you, but I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone tonight. Maybe I can crash here on your couch if you need anything in the middle of the night."

I didn't even realize what I was saying until I looked up at him and saw a blank face there. Maybe I had crossed a line and he would want shooed me out of his house forever. But then the corner of his lips came up and he looked at me with a smile that was malicious even for a blind.

"I think this whole story of male SEAL is fantasy out of your head and yes, I would appreciate if you stayed here overnight."

Then he turned and entered his house, leaving me completely open-mouthed outside.

Did I really hear what I thought I'd heard?

Maybe I was not the only one with disturbing thoughts in this partnership after all.

 

_The end._


	2. Collecting memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First weekend of Danny, Grace and Steve together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write a story that was just fluff. No angst and where no one gets hurt. So, I thought writing about Grace's first weekend with Steve and Danny already as a couple, where they should tell her about their recent relationship.
> 
> Grace has a very heavy weight on my verse because she is the reason Danny moved to Hawaii and stayed before meeting Steve. Now he has several other reasons, but she has always been the biggest, so she has to have a huge weight in history. Not to mention that she is one of my favorite characters of the show, although she appears very little.
> 
> This story comes a few weeks after the episode of the football game where the team meets Grace.

* * *

Steve stared at the room newly painted of light yellow. He had discovered that this was Grace's second favorite color. The first was pink, like every little girl who loves Disney princesses, but he did not want her bedroom in his house to be a copy of the room in Rachel's and Stan's mansion so, he opted for a different color.

Danny did not know that Steve was preparing a room exclusively for Grace at his home, but the SEAL knew that Grace was the most important part of Danny's life and why they had met here in Hawaii, so she deserved to have all comfort while in his home.

He took advantage of all Mary's furniture, dresser, bed and wardrobes. He repainted everything in white and decorated the walls with colored stickers, butterflies, flowers, birds. Okay, he admits, Kono was a big help in decorating, his rookie was overjoyed at the bosses' romance and how she loved little Grace, she willingly helped put together the girl's bedroom.

Kono also chose white curtains, a yellow bedding set with flowers that matched those of the walls, Steve also had the idea of scattering empty picture frames around the room so she could decorate them with photos and memories he hoped they would be collect together.

And to demonstrate that yes, he cared about her preferences and wanted to do the little girl truly at home, he bought a carpet of Disney princesses that was placed at the foot of the bed. Steve and Kono admired their work after being done and had to admit, they did very well.

"This needs to be kept secret, Kono. I want it to be a surprise for Danny and Grace on Saturday. "

"How do you think you're going to hide it from him?"

"He doesn't usually come into Mary's room and my father's. He respects my privacy. But it's time to let the old memories go and start creating new ones." There was a sadness there in Steve's tone, but there was hope as well. He now had plans for his future with Danny and was a feeling he had never experienced before.

"I'm sure they'll love boss." Kono said, squeezing Steve's shoulder.

"Thank you Kono. You were amazing. Without you I wouldn't have been able to."

"I'll always be here for you boss." She smiled her beautiful smile and left, leaving Steve admiring his work. After a few minutes, he locked the door and left, eager to show everything to two of the people he loved most in his life.

* * *

Saturday finally arrived and Steve was more than looking forward to the arrival of Danny and Grace. They would come early for breakfast on the beach and Grace was eager to know uncle Steve's house. Danny had said that had a private beach in his backyard and the girl screamed in ecstasy.

Danny was also tense. This weekend they would tell Grace that were together, as boyfriends, a homosexual couple. He was afraid of his daughter's reaction. Danny knew she would not discriminate against them, but in a life as complicated as hers, after going through a divorce, moving away from home in Jersey, he did not want to upset her balance any further. He just hoped everything would go well because he knew that could not live without Grace or Steve. And at the moment both occupied a very large space in his heart.

He found it lovely that Steve invited them to come in early and have breakfast together on his lanai. He knew Grace would be euphoric about it. She already loved Steve, so he knew this would be no problem, they both already had a strong connection.

* * *

Danny approached the garage of Steve's huge house and saw his blue Silverado there. He smiled, the guy was an exaggeration even in that, of course his car had to be huge and virile. But in fact, when you stay a little more around, Steve was a real cuddly and sticky marshmallow. Who would say.

He stopped his Camaro on the side and ran to open the door for his daughter. He took the two bags he had brought for both of them and headed for the front door. He did not even have time to think about knocking when Steve opened it. Danny knew that made him look like an idiot, but he could not control the huge smile that erupted in his face at the sight of the man in front of him.

Steve was not the formal type at work. He was always in cargo pants, combat boots and a t-shirt. Nothing more. He did not worry about clothes like Danny did. He was simple, basic and practical.

But today, for his weekend with Grace, he clearly had thought of what to wear. He looked incredibly handsome in a blue button-down shirt and khaki shorts. The guy was a vision. Danny was out of breath for a minute, only enjoying the sight of his boyfriend in front of him. In those moments, he felt an arrogant joy, Danny always noticed the looks that the women would throw to Steve and he could say that he was his. He had conquered this guy. He had earned the right to feel smug about it.

Then he looked down and thought again at the real reason for falling in love with that guy, not only because he looked like a cover model of GQ, was his heart, that tortured and bruised heart that still had an enormous capacity to love that made him fall on his head in love with him.

He looked down and saw Steve crouched at the level of Grace's eyes, hugging the little girl with a huge smile on his face, they were whispering something he did not understand but did not even try, he wanted to keep that image forever in his brain, his two loves together.

Steve got up after a few moments and grabbed Grace's hand. His huge hand hid the small and delicate of the girl, was an instinctive but protective gesture. And Danny knew that Steve would give his life for the girl. Another reason why the big goofy in front of him won his heart easily.

Danny was completely pleased to note that Steve also assessed him from the top down. Danny wore a white T-shirt and jeans. A completely different look from what he wore in the office.

"Enjoying the view babe?" He cannot help but nudging.

"A lot, you look great in jeans."

"You look great today too."

They both smiled at each other like two impassioned idiots they truly were, but they did not greet each other with a kiss as they always did, they both knew that had to tell Grace about their relationship earlier.

"Well, are you hungry?" Steve asked and Grace shook her head with enthusiasm making the two men laugh.

"That's good, what do you think about eating on the beach?" Grace gave a loud, high-pitched scream that went straight to the two men's eardrums, who laughed even more at the enthusiasm of the little eight-year-old girl. She was truly a ball of energy. Another trait she'd inherited from Danny, plus the fact that she could turn Steve into a fool just with a smile.

 

The three of them had breakfast together at the table Steve had prepared on the lanai. Grace happily ate her pancakes with blueberries and Danny was truly amazed at the cooking ability that Steve had. Another nice surprise.

"I didn't imagine you cooked so well." Danny said around a little bit of his eggs.

"When you live your entire life alone, it's an unavoidable skill."

Okay, that hit Danny's stomach like a punch. Steve did not even realize what he had said, was natural for him to live alone and he would talk about it as if it were not a big deal.

"That's delicious babe, thank you. And she's in heaven." Danny said pointing to a sand-covered Grace in a very pink swimsuit building something in the sand.

"I'm glad she's enjoying it. I know how you feel about her."

Danny reached out and took Steve's hand in his, he always wanted his partner to know that he was as important to him as his daughter. In a short time, Steve had become an indispensable part of the detective's life, who complained less and less about the island.

"I feel the same way about you babe, I don't know what would be like to live without either of you."

Steve smiled, slightly embarrassed at how easily Danny expressed his feelings, he would like to be better at it.

"You're very important to me too, Danno."

They both looked at each other and the desire to touch the lips was almost impossible to control. Danny straightened before he lost the battle against the urge to kiss Steve right there. He cleared his throat in an attempt to compose himself and said:

"I think we should talk to her soon."

"Yes, I also think. And I have one more thing for her."

"What? I told you that I don't want anyone spoiling her too much ok? You didn't have to buy anything for her..."

"Hey Danny! It's something you're going to approve, I'm sure."

Danny looked suspiciously, Steve was known for his exaggeration, so he was afraid of what the guy had done. He was the type who would easily buy a pony for Grace.

"Okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." He glanced sideways at Steve as he reached for his daughter who was almost a breaded croquette in the sand.

* * *

They went in and after cleaning Grace from all the sand in the shower downstairs, Steve led the three of them to the second floor, where the rooms were.

He took Grace's sleeping bag and stood in the doorway where Mary had been one day. He took a deep breath and said:

"Grace, I did something inside for you and I hope you enjoy it. I want you to know that you're always welcome in my house and I want you to feel like it's yours too, okay? "The little girl shook her head in confusion and Danny stared at the door with his jaw dropped, he could not believe it Steve had done what he suspected he had.

Breathing deeply, Steve opened the door and the look on Grace's face was worth all the time he spent on this project, she was truly delighted.

"Is this for me?" She asked, still slightly confused. Danny was holding his breath.

"Yes. I know you love pink, but I also know you love yellow too so, I did it for you. Do you like it? "Steve was afraid she would hate the decor.

"I love it!" The little girl screamed and threw herself into Steve's arms, almost unbalancing him in the process, the SEAL gave a satisfied laugh, was wonderful to know that she had liked. Through Grace's shoulder, he glanced at his partner who was standing, looking in, eyes wide as saucers and beginning to tear.

"Steve ... this is .... this ... uh ..."

"Oh, did I make Danny Williams speechless? Oh my, this is something to write down on the calendar." He said as he rose from the floor and smiled as he watched Grace enter her room and look around, delighted by every detail.

"Come here you big goofy." Steve smiled and ran into Danny's arms that hugged the stuffing out of him and almost made him breathless.

"I have no words to thank you, I don't know what to say. When did you do it? The last week was crazy, we almost had no slack..."

"Hey, was not that much. I just painted Mary's walls and old furniture. Kono helped me with the decor and that's it, was easy. "

"Don't slow down your gesture, please. This is wonderful. You knew she loves yellow after pink, there's the princess rug, you really paid attention when I talked about her, this is the biggest proof in the world that you're invested in our relationship. I don't know how to say thank you."

"The only thank you I need is to have you both with me. That's all." They were looking at each other with such love that was hard to disguise. At some point during the conversation, Grace had turned to them and now she was looking with a confused look on both of them.

Danny realized that now was the time to finally come clean with his daughter.

"Hey monkey, let's sit in your new bed and talk about something?"

"Yes." she answered a little louder than a whisper. She was scared now.

"I'll let you two talk alone ..."

"No way!" Danny interrupted.

"You're taking part in this. Don't run away."

Now, was Steve who was scared, but he sat next to Danny anyway.

"Darling, I wanted to tell you that I found a special person, someone Danno wants around and I brought you here today to tell this."

Grace had a serious look on her face that was the sweetest thing Steve had ever seen. He was hopelessly in love with that little girl.

"Are you dating Danno?"

Danny shook his head and saw in the corner of eye a smile forming on Steve's lips. The great idiot.

"But Danno is not dating a woman..."

"You're uncle Steve's boyfriend."

"And was such a natural statement that took Danny's breath again and made Steve choke on his own. It was Grace who was smiling now.

"Who told you monkey?"

"No one. I just found out." Oh God, she was a detective now.

"What do you mean?" Steve recovered his voice and asked in amazement.

"I'm a kid, Danno but I know you like uncle Steve because you look at him the same way you look at me, smiling."

Oh God, if he was so obvious to a child then he should look like an idiot in love for the rest of the world.

"Right. I didn’t expect that." Danny stammered, running his hand over his face.

"And are you okay with that, dear?" Steve asked the question of a million dollars.

Then Grace got up and sat between the two men. She kissed his father's cheek and Steve's too and shook her head with the kind of enthusiasm that is only childlike. And jumped out of bed to explore the rest of her new room.

"That was a lot easier than I thought." Danny said, still gaping at his own daughter.

"She's a very sensitive and special girl." Steve said, taking Danny's icy hand in his.

"She's okay with us." Danny said, still a bit catatonic.

"I knew she would." Steve smiled sweetly.

The romantic moment was interrupted by a very excited girl holding a pink picture frame with glitter in her hand and jumping like the ball of energy she was.

"Danno, we need to take lots of photos, there are a lot of frames to put photos here."

Danny smiled at the simple happiness of his daughter.

"Yeah monkey and I think we can start this weekend, what do you think?"

"Yes! We can take pictures on the beach. The three of us."

And Danny looked at Steve who smiled so wide that must hurt and thought, yes, we can start collecting our memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed it and once again thank you very much to those who are with me on this adventure, following, commenting and leaving kudos :)


	3. Almost died... again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introductions needed to understand this story:
> 
> This is a coda for episode 7x22. In my alternative universe, Danny and Steve have been married for six years, but I have not yet written all the stories within that period, so some tweaking before you start reading this story is important.
> 
> \- Charlie and Grace are Danny's biological children. I'm still thinking about how to make Danny impregnate Rachel without him cheating in Steve. I accept suggestions okay?
> 
> \- Steve has a biological daughter who lives with them. I already have this story in progress.
> 
> \- Nahele and John (who is quoted nominally in this story) are adopted children of Danny and Steve.
> 
> Now we can continue with everything more or less clarified ok? All these stories are already in my mind, at some point everything will make more sense in the universe that I created.
> 
> I wish I had posted this before 7x23, but things went insane in real life and I just got it done today. Hope you enjoy, this chapter took a lot of hurt and no comfort. Let's pack this now.

* * *

Danny Williams is known for verbalizing unequivocally and in considerable volume everything he feels. But today, the same Danny Williams is extremely quiet.

He is sitting on his bed and Steve at his house. He has his reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and is reading one of his novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

He has to take a deep breath and squeeze his jaw so as not to incur a traditional and full blown rant when he sees Steve come out of the bathroom limping. The last two cases where they worked had been terrible and in both, Steve wound up in the end.

Add to this the fact that Danny just overheard the doctor accompanying Steve's transplant say loud and clear that he was not released for all the activity and abuse he has been committing since when he was discharged from Tripler a few months ago.

Not that Danny imagined that he would be freed to be punched in the abdomen every time he went, jumping through rooftops of buildings, being stabbed in the back, parachute jumping or punching bag for the perps in general. Of course not.

However, today he simply went beyond all bounds. All of them. He had never put himself in as many life-threatening situations as he had today. Moreover, Danny was simply tired of screaming and finding a brick wall unable to hear. So he decided he would not scream anymore.

Steve and his desire for a heroic and premature death would go to hell. He wanted to live and watch his kids graduate from college.

Of course, Steve had been aware of Danny's unusual silence all day long, especially after he saw Steve fished a bullet from his Kevlar with a knife as if it were the most normal thing in the world, after that, the detective simply shut up and did not speak nothing more than the case and the work.

They arrived home some time ago after the tribute at Pearl and Steve waited quietly for the rant he knew would come. However, it did not come. And a silent Danny was scarier than a screaming Danny and waving his arms in his face.

Now, after the whole house was asleep, including children and pets, Danny had gotten a shower. He had locked the bathroom door by sending a clear message that he did not want Steve in there with him. The ex-SEAL respected, after all he knew that his mischief of the day had made Danny pissed.

After Danny left the bathroom, he came in and for the second time that day he let the hot water soothe his extremely abused muscles. Lou had played by calling him Superman, but he knows that this is ridiculous; he is human like all of them and feels pain and fatigue like all of them.

He just does not complain when something hurts.

And that's something that puts Danny out of his mind every time.

But Steve really can't help himself, this is deeply ingrained in his psyche.

Now, he honestly began to regret ignoring everything that hurt. He would kill for an Advil right now, but the prospect of walking back to the bathroom where the medicine cabinet was, it is terrible and he gave up, continuing his laborious walk to bed.

When Steve finally reached his destination and managed to leap up the comfortable Queen Size bed, Danny was breathing heavily and gritting his teeth trying to control the urge to yell at Steve until lost the voice. But he had made a resolution earlier and he would go with it, if Steve wanted him not to worry and did not care that was what he would get.

Heartbroken, he ignored his husband's painful groans as he sought a comfortable position in bed without success.

And Danny knew Steve, nothing less than a deep coma was motive for the guy to complain about something, he had always had to practically rip off Steve's any confession of pain. He would never give anything away without a fight. Then the groans were something that scared Danny, he really should be in considerable suffer.

But right now, all Steve needed was a little hard love, to understand how a insensitive idiot he was most of the time.

When he heard the groans cease, Steve apparently managed to feel better in some position that he did not care either, Danny turned off the bedside light, closed his book, took off his glasses and turned away from Steve, he knew it would take hours to sleep, he was still scared of everything that had happened on that damn day. No, in the damn last few weeks, he just prayed that was the worst of all.

* * *

After a long time Danny slept. A restless sleep, permeated by nightmares where he was in a waiting room and a doctor warned him that Steve had not resisted. In one of those nightmares, very graphic and with lots of blood involved, Danny woke with a start. It took him a few seconds to realize he was in his bedroom sleeping next to Steve. He turned to look at the sleeping face of his lover and just found the side of the bed empty. No Steve.

After a moment of panic at the thought that his nightmare had been real and he had lost his husband, Danny heard a sound coming from the bathroom and noticed the light on under the door alight.

Punishment that goes to hell, now he was really worried. The sounds were from someone getting very sick in the bathroom. And that someone could only be Steve.

Danny ran barefoot, heart pounding in chest to find a completely miserable Steve folded over the toilet, gagging and suffering like hell. The guy was pale as a ghost and trembled from head to toe, he was about to pass out right there on the bathroom floor.

"Babe ..." Danny said as he knelt beside his husband, touched his arm to comfort and shuddered, Steve was sweating cold.

"Leave me alone Danny ..." He managed between breathless breaths and get sick again profusely. _Shit. Concussion._

"Hey, hey! None of this, tell me what's going on with you? "

"I thought you didn't care..." He said, after stopping the imitation of the exorcist's girl and pressing the discharge to clear his mess. He was clearly exhausted and Danny tried not to panic at the thought that he showed clear signs of shock.

"Who told you I don't care? I don't do anything else in my life but worry about you!" Danny screamed as he wet a towel to wipe Steve's face. The guy was so bad that did not even open his eyes while Danny panicked in front of him.

"Ok, let's get you to bed and I'll figure out what to do next. You need help?" Danny asked, Steve was unsociable and he did not want to make things worse.

"No, I'm fine." Stubbornly, Steve held the sink and leapt to his feet. Unstable, but he managed to stand. And he was not looking in Danny's eyes yet.

As he was about to walk through the bathroom door to the bedroom, he swore loudly and grabbed the doorjamb. Danny ran to his side, wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist, threw the other over his shoulder, and carried most of the taller man's weight to the bed. When he got there, he smoothed some pillows and helped Steve sit up against the head of the bed.

"No sleep buddy, I need to know what's happening to you."

"Why?" The guy was frustrating at best, at his worst he almost drove Danny crazy.

"Why do I wake up to my husband throwing up what he has eaten for a week! In the middle of damn dawn! After have the shit hit out him earlier. That's why I want to know what the hell is wrong with you!"

Steve cringed and placed both hands on his temples before Danny's screams. Okay, concussion completely confirmed now. Not to mention that they probably had woken up the whole house.

What was confirmed the next minute when a knock was heard on the door of the room and a frightened little voice asked?

"Is everything okay dad? Danno?"

"Yes son, it's all right. You can go back to sleep." Danny tried to reassure his eight-year-old.

"Okay." And it was such a sad confirmation that broke Danny's heart into yet another bunch of pieces. He sighed, tomorrow he would have to do the things right with the children. But now, Steve was his biggest concern, he did not even know if he would have to drag his sad ass to the hospital in the next moments.

He turned to the side to see a still very pale Steve sweating and trembling with his eyes closed, trying to breathe through the pain.

"Babe, please just tell me what hurts. When you feel better you can yell at me with anything you want, but now I want to help you feel better, that's all..."

He noticed Steve deflate a little. His shoulders relaxed a few inches and he opened his watery, bloodshot eyes. Danny's heart skipped a beat.

"It's easier to say what doesn't hurt." Steve said, in a completely unsuccessful attempt at humor.

"Okay, you probably have a concussion given the nausea and the headache. Does the light hurt too?"

“Yes.”

"Let me take a look at your pupils."

Steve's eyes were now a tone of dark gray, but clearly the pupils were reactive and a little larger than normal. Certainly a concussion. Danny then switched off the bedroom light and left only the bedside lamp on, Steve sighed in relief.

"Anything beyond the head hurts?"

"My left knee."

"Knee?"

"Yeah, I must have twisted it when I fell off the roof of the house where the bomb was."

"What? Did you fall off the roof? What the hell, Steve?"

"Don't shout for God's sake! You're gonna make my head explode." Steve said and had to swallow another wave of nausea.

Danny swallowed his anger and stroked his husband's shoulder trying to get some comfort. But hell, he did not know he had fallen off the roof of the house during the blast, he even mentioned it all day long.

"Let me see if you broke anything."

Danny sat down next to that knee and groped. Definitely swollen. Steve hissed and writhed on the bed as Danny's cold fingers touched the inflamed joint.

"It's not broken, ice and a few take it easy should settle, otherwise I'll drag you to the doctor."

Steve only shook his head in agreement, too tired and too sore to argue.

"Where did the bullet hit you?”

"A little below the left shoulder."

Danny carefully pulled the strap of his tank top and saw the huge purple bruise, he felt the area, gained another groan of pain, but there was apparently no fracture, just a contusion.

"Something more terribly sore?"

"My back and my neck, it's like I have a whiplash."

"God, I'm afraid to ask why."

"I was thrown on a fruit stand, fell on my neck, through a glass door and got some good hits in the back, I couldn't avoid any of them."

"God, Steve! Do you have any idea of everything that could have gone wrong? I'll let the boys know and we'll take you to the ER."

"Come on Danny, I need some advil and just rest, don't make me drag myself to an ER right now..."

"You clearly have a concussion, what level? I don't know, I'm not a doctor. You may have broken your leg for what all matters, I also don't have x-ray vision to know if there is something out of place in it, you were hit several times in the back, there may be internal injuries, not to mention you took one round for the vest and maybe have something more serious going on inside your body that we don't know, I will not take the risk Steve."

Danny's tone was serious, very serious. And Steve knew he had neglected his injuries and was now paying the price for it, but the prospect of getting up and going to the ER was terrible.

"Please Danny, our day was terrible, I just want to rest and sleep with you by my side and not in a hospital bed, I will not bleed to death and my leg is not broken, you know that ..."

"Okay, you won tonight, but if you're worse tomorrow I'm calling an ambulance and you will not have a word on it."

"Thanks Danno." He tried to smile but grimaced as a new surge of pain crossed his battered body.

"Don't move, I'll be right back." Danny went to the bathroom, picked up three advil and a glass of water and returned to the room, handing it to Steve. He ran back out of the room to fetch ice for countless bruises of the doofus that he called love of his life but on the way, he found the light of John's bedroom alight.

"John?" Slowly entering the room he heard soft sniffles coming from the lump beneath the Superman's duvet that the boy loved. Danny did not miss the irony of the thing.

There was a movement beneath the blanket and the boy discovered his head and Danny sighed feeling terrible for losing control and frightening his son. He sat on the bed and stroked the boy's dark hair.

"What's going on, baby?" He knew what it was about, but he wanted to give the boy the opportunity to say it for himself.

"Is Dad going to need to go to the hospital again?" And at that moment Danny wanted to drag Steve out of the goddamned bed, hurt or not, to hear how his reckless behavior frightened his children.

"No John, we had a rough day and he got hurt a little, but for now we don't need to go to the hospital, he just needs rest and you guys will need to help me take care of him right?" The boy's face lit up in the last part of the sentence, John loved Steve and wanted to be like him, but he was very much like Danny inside, worried and willing to take care of those he loves.

"Okay, I was scared when you yelled at him, I don't want you to leave..."

"Hey, hey, hey! Who said we're going to part, huh? Couples fight it's normal, but I love your father and I'm not going to leave him. This was not even the worst thing he ever did and ended hurted." Danny tried to smile, but John was skeptical. He was too smart to be fooled by silly jokes.

"Look, son, your dad has the self-protection instinct of an amoeba in a coma and he ends up hurting a lot because of this, but I'll always be there with him to help remind that scares you and your siblings when he gets hurt. So, stop worrying about this breakup thing because it's not happening here in this house, ever, do you understand? "

The boy sniffed again and shook his head. Danny kissed his soft hair and folded the boy back on the bed and left, ensuring that everything would be all right with his dad and that he could see for himself tomorrow.

* * *

Danny returned to the room four minutes later, carrying two blocks of ice and a glass of juice. Steve had not eaten anything all day. The oaf always did this when they had a difficult case.

When he entered the room, a part of his frustration bled out. Steve was half-sitting and half-lying on the bed, clearly asleep. The painkiller probably had kicked and helped sleep. He did not want to wake him, but if he did not, his husband would be even more miserable in the morning.

Danny sat down next to Steve on the bed and stroked his hair, careful not to disturb the cut he knew was there, under the scalp. He smiled as Steve snuggled into his touch, almost like a sly cat. He then placed a hand on the sleeping man's shoulder and shook it gently. Steve scared awake in a nano second and moaned in pain as he moved his neck very quickly. Danny held his hand as his lover breathed through the pain.

"Damn, that sucks." Steve said when he could trust his voice again.

"I know it is.I brought you ice and a glass of juice, you need something in that stomach or these pills will attack your gastritis. And you didn't eat or drink anything all day."

Steve bit his lower lip so he would not moan in pain as he sat up straighter and accepted the juice, now that the worst pain had receded a bit, he began to feel thirsty and hungry.

As he drank, he watched Danny sit by his knee, position an ice pack, and pin it there with an ace bandage from the first aid kit. The first contact of the icy object in his hot, inflamed joint caused him to jump and hiss in pain, but Danny's ever-comforting hand stroking his ankle helped to make everything better. His lover's touch was all he needed when he was not feeling well.

After finishing with knee, Danny placed the other ice pack on Steve's neck and persuaded him to lie down on the pillow while the ice did his work anesthetizing the pain. He covered his partner again and lay down next to him, wrapping his fingers together for some comfort.

"I'm so sorry." Steve said, a few minutes later.

"We'll talk about this, but not now. You need to rest and feel better."

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"Steve..."

"Let me tell you, this is hurting me as much as the physical injuries. I need you to know that I did what I did without thinking about the consequences, I know it sucks to admit it, but I just reacted in every situation. It's hard reprogram the brain. I was trained for it."

"Look, don't worry about it okay? Just rest, tomorrow we'll talk, you can't talk now and I'm exhausted too. Now sleep. If you need something or feel sick again just call me right? And don't try to get up and walk on that knee alone.

"Right." Steve responded and tried to feel comfortable with his aching body everywhere. Danny lay down under his side and wrapped a careful hand on Steve's waist, he grabbed the blonde detective's arm and sighed deeply, closing eyes and trying to force his hyperactive brain to shut down and relax.

It took a while, but after a while, both slept feeling the solid presence of each other.

* * *

Steve woke up in the morning feeling as if a truck had run over him, came back and passed over again. What did not hurt the night before now hurt. His neck was hard, just like his left knee. He sighed. Beside him, he felt the soothing presence of Danny, who was still soundly asleep.

He did not want to wake him up because the day before had been exhausting for both of them and Danny had always needed more sleep than Steve anyway, but he was extremely sore and in need of using the bathroom. Then he would have to call his husband because if he got up alone Danny would chew him and he was already enough in the dog's house to irritate him even more. He then called him as gently as possible.

"Danno ..." Slight sleep, typical of parents with young children, Danny grunted something indistinguishable and turned slowly to Steve.

"Hey babe, how are you feeling? You slept like a rock the rest of the night."

"I really need to go to the bathroom, can you help me?"

Okay, now Danny was scared. Was this the day of the zombie apocalypse? Steve McGarrett asking for help deliberately?

"Who are you and what did you do to my Steve?"

"Danny, I'm very needy... if you understand me. And you're being unfair, I've improved a lot in asking for help in the years we've been together."

"Yeah, I know, I just couldn't resist teasing you a little." Danny said as he ran to the other side of the bed, helped Steve sit on the edge and put a hand on his waist and threw one of his arms over his shoulder. Carrying much of Steve's weight, the detective helped his husband to limp into the bathroom and stood outside the door waiting to help him back to bed.

After placed comfortably under the blanket, Danny checked his watch on his cell phone. Six thirty in the morning. Too early for Danny, but an hour later than normal for Steve.

"Okay, I'll go downstairs and do something for you to eat before take more pain medication."

Steve looked at Danny and nodded in agreement. He was in a lot of pain and knew that had to eat something not to make a hole in his stomach with so many pills.

* * *

Danny came back minutes later with a tray that had a glass of juice, two toast with jelly and a bowl of fruit salad. Light enough for those who did not feel well and three of the things that Steve liked to eat.

"Here you go. Eat and I'll give you your medicine."

He helped Steve sit up against the pillows and put the pillow on his lap. He stood by his side and watched him eat, ready to help if necessary.

Surprisingly Steve ate almost everything. He was really starting to feel the lack of food the day before. Danny then reached out with two more advil and Steve washed them with the rest of the juice. Danny removed the tray and looked directly into Steve's eyes, a tactic that always kept him from lying.

"I know you're in pain, but you have to tell me the truth, are you worse than yesterday? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

Steve really wasn’t worse than yesterday. Besides the whiplash and swollen knee, he felt better. Not even sick and without a headache.

"I have a very hard neck and a very sore knee, but the rest is better. No nausea and the headache is gone."

Danny looked at him, still skeptical.

"I swear, Danny, I'm not lying."

"Okay, I'll get more ice for your knee and a salonpas for your neck."

Danny left the room and was pleased to see that all but two of them were still asleep.

* * *

"Danny, that hurts! Easy, easy!" Steve whimpered like a baby as Danny applied the medicinal bandage to Steve's neck. There was tension in neck and the detective began to massage it. In conjunction with the remedy that would be absorbed by the skin soon, this would help relieve the pain of the whiplash. But Steve was stoic in some areas and a complete weeping baby in others.

"Don't be dramatic, it'll make you feel less pain later."

"I know, but it still hurts."

"How did you get this in a fight anyway?"

"I was caught by surprise and hurled on a fruit stand, I fell wrong on my neck. I felt pop in the hour, knew I would have a hell of a whiplash later."

"Jesus Steve! You could have broken your neck, you know this was practically a death sentence?"

"I know Danny, but I was caught unawares, lack of attention, focus on the wrong place, I don't know and I knew I didn't have a broken vertebra, I know how it feels."

"What?" Danny stopped rubbing Steve's shoulders and looked incredulous. How did he know how it feels to break a vertebra?

"Look Danny, it's classified, but I was injured in combat once and I dislocated a vertebra in the neck, I spent months in rehab and in a wheelchair. But I was okay after a some time right?"

"I don't know if it's worse or better to know that sort of thing..."

“I’m sorry.”

"No, no more apologies. You were seriously injured and almost paraplegic protecting our country and that is incredible."

"Tetraplegic."

"Oh God..."

"Okay, I stopped. Whatever you're doing with your fingers don't stop Danno, I'm already feeling the muscles relieve."

"That's good babe."

"Hmmmm..."

Danny smiled, the tension in Steve's shoulders and neck had diminished significantly, he was completely relaxed now.

"I'll change the bandage and ice of your knee."

Danny readjusted the pillows and went down on the bed to take care of Steve's bruised knee.

"That looks awful. Maybe you should go to the doctor today."

"Please Danny, a doctor's today, in the state I am in would be like being tortured..."

"Okay, but I'm still not convinced you didn't ruptured a ligament here. Your knee has a beautiful purple color."

He took out the pack of melted ice, the wet bandage and put a new one and did the bandage work again. Steve moaned as the ice began to freeze the maltreated joint, but then relaxed as he felt the pain numb.

"Done, rest now, let the medicine take effect."

"Danno?"

"Yeah love?"

"Stay with me?"

"Oh my friend, I still have a few hours of sleep before the little monsters raise up hungry."

Steve laughed at Danny's affectionate nickname for their children, cuddled up with his overly protective husband and let the remedies do the job of alleviating their pain.

* * *

When he woke again, there was no Danny in the room. He stretched carefully and looked at his watch on cell phone to see that it was past nine in the morning. He rarely slept that much. But today, even if he wanted to, early waking was off limits.

Beside the cell phone was a note and leaning on the bedside table was a cane. He recognized Danny's cane that he had stored for when he felt pain in his knee. The note read:

_"I'm downstairs looking after the hungry, noisy little monsters. When you get down, for God's sake, Steven, use the cane."_

Steve laughed at the yellow sticky note. It was so Danny. Worried and complaining at the same time.

The former Navy SEAL sat up, still stiff but a little less sore, tested to put some weight on the bad knee, it hurt, but was manageable and the cane helped. He went to the bathroom for his morning hygiene and after getting into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, he started the arduous task of going down the stairs to the ground floor.

Danny was in the kitchen, cleaning up the remains of breakfast and all the kids had already gone on their way to school. They were alone at home. It was the perfect time to talk.

"Good morning Danno." Steve said in order to start the communication.

"Good morning babe, how are you feeling?"

"Horrible yet, but getting better."

"We need to put a support bandage on your knee, you need to keep it wrapped for stability." Danny said as he fled upstairs, apparently in search of the first-aid kit stored in the room.

He came back and found Steve with a coffee mug in his hand. He sat up and pulled his partner's injured leg into his lap, folded his pants carefully up to his thigh and began wrapping his knee in a new ace bandage.

"Done. Be careful not to overdo it and you should be fine in a few days, but later we'll freeze it again."

Steve smiled at Danny, even when he was clearly annoyed, the guy was gently careful.

After take his coffee and watch Danny finish cleaning the kitchen, Steve sighed and said:

"Can we solve this now?" He watched as Danny's shoulders caught. He was immediately tense.

"Look Steve I don't even know if there's anything here to sort out..." Steve immediately panicked, did Danny have had enough of all his madness?

"What do you mean?"

Danny rolled his eyes, it was like talking to a three-year-old.

"I'm not pouring your sad ass into the gutter, though I seriously thought about it yesterday when you wanted to do Wolverine's cosplay and pluck a bullet from your kevlar with your teeth ..."

“Knife.”

"Steven!"

"Okay sorry."

"What I want to say is that we have been together as partners for almost eight years, as a couple there are seven and a half and as married there are six and I think you will die like this, hero up the last yarn of hair and I will never can change this, so I'm officially giving up trying."

Steve was completely shocked. He had never realized that all his crazy acrobatics really did affect Danny. He thought he complained only because was his way of showing affection, not that he was really scared.

"Look at me, I'm not giving up on us as a couple right? I'm just saying that I'm going to stop bothering you every moment of the day because really what's the point? You lied to me for months, entered into a lot of crazyness, one after another even after of the transplant and I have to find out during your routine consultation that you aren't yet released to play all the shit you play daily..."

Okay that hurt. He really threw himself into a number of dangerous and unnecessary situations weeks after almost dying and needing half of Danny's liver. Any sensible human would call him mad, insane and ungrateful. But he could not accept that he could not be who he was before that case where he was practically dead.

But hearing Danny speak so with such sorrow put it all into a new perspective.

"I didn't lie to you..."

"Oh no? So what was it? Concealment of the truth? For me it's the same. On the day of discharge you opened your surgical scar and I almost had a heart attack when I saw you shuffle out of that building bleeding from your incision. If you had been severely injured, was almost certain that nothing could have saved you again."

"I know..."

"No you don't know, because a week later you got into a fight with a bastard who just didn't kill you because I got there just in time, not to mention being stabbed in the back while I wasn't even here. Was this what the doctor recommend?"

"I didn't do it on purpose! It wasn't premeditated! I was just doing my damn job! The only thing I can still do in my fucking life!" Steve screamed and got up and started pacing the kitchen nervously. Not walking, limping, very intensely.

"Sit down, you idiot! You're completely insane, that's what you do all the time, throw yourself into life-threatening situations without thinking of anything else."

"You're being selfish, Danny! You know we're cops and we're face to face with death every day and we can't get away from it."

"Yes, but we can minimize the damage! Just stop and think, how many times have you been hospitalized since we started working together? How many bones have you broken? How many shots? Come on now redo that same account with me. What makes me different of you? We have the same line of work here."

"I'm the leader, it is expected of me that I put myself in danger, that I am in front of the dangerous situations, that I protect all of you."

"Okay and who will protect your kids when you are dead? I will always be here for them you can be sure, but it will destroy them losing you!"

"I can’t change who I am!"

"John was crying last night at dawn did you know? He was scared to lose you! He is afraid to be without his dad! He wants to be you! He wants to be a Navy-SEAL and then a police officer, who will be your role model if you kill yourself for any crap like this?"

Hearing that he scared his boy and made him cry broke Steve's heart.

"Was he crying?"

"Yes, hidden under the duvet and sobbing. He heard us fighting and he was scared. You're going to rip their hearts off if you die early Steve. I know our work is dangerous and any of us can get shot in the head and die, but you need to avoid situations that can be avoided."

It was too painful to think that he could lose Danny for a gunfight at random.

"Think about how you would feel if the situation were reversed and I pulled that kind of shit all the time." It has time that looks like Danny has the ability to read your thoughts, it's scary.

Now he understood Danny's wrath. He could not bear to see his partner and love wounded. In the few times that this happened, because Danny is actually much more careful than him, Steve had almost lost his mind. If his husband were crazy like him, Steve would have died of a heart attack for sure.

He deflated of the whole fight, looked at Danny and held out his hand to his husband.

"Come here Danno."

Danny approached, still nervous, breathing heavily, but he approached, he could never deny when Steve asked for something.

"I understand, okay, I'm sorry for everything. For being an idiot and ungrateful bastard, for not taking care of me as I should after your sacrifice for me, for not thinking about my family when I put myself in dangerous situations, I promise I'll try to be better."

"Don't promise what you're not going to do, I don't want to hear any more lies here..." He really had messed up things if Danny could not believe what he was saying anymore.

"I'm being honest, really. I hate to see you or the kids upset. Cut my heart."

And because Danny was madly in love with the goof of a husband he had, it was practically impossible not to forgive the guy after those words.

"Of course I forgive you, just try not to plan to give me angina everyday okay? I would like to live to see my grandchildren."

Steve laughed. That kind of statement was the confirmation he needed that Danny had really forgiven him and still loved him enough not to run to the mountains.

"I promise, my love. And I'll talk to the kids when they get back from school."

"Yeah, you're going to need to explain why you looks like a train wreck, it's not like you're going to be able to hide it from them."

Danny tried to get up but Steve pinned him and bent to kiss him, as hot and needy as if were the first time.

He loved his life and did not want to lose it for anything, not even for his self-destructive instincts.

"I love you Danno," Steve said after they let go.

"I love you more babe."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 7x23 I has absolutely sure that I want Charlie to be Danny's son. His scenes with Steve were simply adorable.


	4. What if...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here we are with one more coda.
> 
> There are already several, one better than the other for the 7x25 ep.
> 
> I decided to add mine inside my AU.
> 
> Who was not heartbroken by the news Steve gave Danny at the end of the chapter?
> 
> While we do not see the result of all this next season, we're having fun with the fics.
> 
> Hope you like it!

* * *

 

Danny was at the Iolani Palace preparing for lunch when the call arrived. Karen, Tripler's nurse responsible for Steve's care that day had a tense voice:

"Detective Williams, will you be visiting Commander McGarrett soon?"

Uh oh, that question sent an icy chill down Danny's spine.

"I'm finalizing some things around here and then I'll be in my way. Something wrong?"

"A half hour ago the Commander began to experience breathing difficulties and soon we will probably have to intubate him, maybe you, your children, and people around you will want to come and talk to him before we have to do the procedure. Hi breath is deteriorating rapidly."

Tears flooded Danny's eyes, the end is near. What Karen said was in another words 'come and talk to him one last time'.

Danny refused, but that's what was happening. He was losing his husband and love of his life ten years after the damn dirty bomb that made Steve sick.

The first sign that it was not all right was the discovery of a tumor two years ago. It was fast, aggressive, and the treatment almost had no effect.

Now Steve was going through the third pneumonia since he had started cancer treatments, but this time, the extremely weakened body was not fighting anymore. It was time to let him go, no matter how painful.

Eighteen years.

Eighteen years of partnership, sixteen of married. Five children. Hundreds of lives saved over the years with the Navy and Five-0.

And the end of Commander McGarrett's life was determined by a case ten years ago that made him exposed to radiation. A death sentence. One that nobody could help him to overcome.

"Yes ... I'll let everyone know, we'll be there soon." Danny answered in his choked voice. It was time to say goodbye and he did not want to. But he could not bear to see his love suffer anymore. Steve was a warrior, so he had not yet gone, because it is in his DNA to fight until there is no hope. And that moment had apparently arrived.

He tried to compose himself and failed, leaving for the bulpen where Kono, Chin, Lou and Jerry were whispering about something around the smart table. The weather had been heavy since Steve had been hospitalized recently, all terrified at the moment when the final shoe was going to fall.

When Danny sighed outside his office, everyone looked at him. Kono's eyes immediately filled with water, Lou was trying to hold on to the emotion and failing miserably, Jerry was terrified given the size of his eyes as he looked at Danny.

Chin was the only one who as always managed to keep calm. Approaching Danny, he asked:

"What's going on, Danny?"

"The hospital called me ... they asked ... they asked all the important people for Steve to come to the ICU, he got worse, he's going to need a respirator soon and we need ... we need to say goodbye."

Chin closed his eyes, breathed a shaky breath, and immediately Kono and Lou hugged each other sobbing. Chin took the lead, knowing that Danny would not be good for anything from now on, he looked at Jerry still frozen in the same place and said:

"Jerry, get the car and pick up the children at school, I'll tell the governor and we'll all go to the hospital, on the way we'll call Mary."

"Doris ..." Danny managed to say.

"What?" Chin asked trying to understand what his friend was trying to say.

"Doris ... we need to find her and Joe. They need to know."

"Alright, we'll call them on the way to the hospital. Now let's move, our leader needs us now."

With tears streaming freely through his eyes now, Danny followed Chin through the halls of Five-0 almost like a zombie.

* * *

Two hours. They got two hours with Steve before he needed to be put on the ventilator and sedated.

The children had come, said goodbye, wept and promised that they would never forget their father. The team had been grateful for the wonderful years over Steve's lead. Doris and Joe had managed to get there just minutes before intubation and Mari had passed out on seeing her brother's condition.

Danny had seen everything from the corner of the room, waiting for his moment to say good-bye to the great love of his life, he gave to Steve a final kiss before the tube was inserted and eyes closing in front of the sedation.

Now he was sitting next to his husband, listening to the monitors slowly lower their pace and the heart of the person he most loved in life slowly stop.

Steve would not wake up any longer, Danny knew that. His farewell unlike his life was being quiet and gentle.

He holds the cold, thin hand of the man who has transformed his life in hundreds of ways and waits, beside the devices that say every minute that everything is coming to an end...

* * *

Danny wakes up with a start. His heart seems to explode out of the chest, his ears are ringing, it's like being in that damn forest with that fucking bomb again.

Breathing hard, he looks to the side and his heart slows a little, Steve is sleeping soundly beside him. Sprawled on his back, one arm folded under the pillow and the other extended in Danny's direction.

Good thing he did not wake Steve. It had been a hell of a nightmare. Too real for Danny's taste. Was that how PSTD felt? If it was, he had a new level of respect for the man who was quietly snoring beside him now.

Still frightened by the prospect of losing the love of his life for a dirty uranium bomb, Danny got up and left the room. After the party tonight, his husband was exhausted and feeling sick. He puked twice and was still pale as a ghost, he needed rest.

Danny went down the stairs and out onto the lanai. Over the years he learned to enjoy the calm and tranquility that being near the sea brought. Another thing that Steve thrust into him.

He sat down on one of the white wooden chairs in front of the black-toned ocean and sighed. In his hand was his cell phone and the Jersey detective began doing the least recommended thing in the world at the moment, researching the prognosis of who had radiation poisoning.

* * *

Steve woke when he turned to the side where Danny always slept and missed his husband. Immediately he opened his eyes and confirmed that Danny was not in the room.

A brief panic took over his senses and he lifted, the former SEAL was assaulted by a wave of vertigo but he needed to find Danny. Nothing would stop him.

Carefully he looked at his children's bedrooms and his husband was not there.

Then he came down and saw the door of the lanai open. In the distance, in one of the white chairs, was a lump he recognized as Danny.

Steve sighed. He knew what had caused it.

He then approached Danny and his breathing hitched. He was sitting, elbows on his knees and face in his hands, his breath was gasping.

Steve sat on the sand in front of Danny, put hands on Danny's knees and spoke softly:

"Danno..."

Danny still did not look up. He was sniffing. Crying.

"Danno ... please ... look at me." Yes, he was begging now.

Danny lifted his wet and red eyes and Steve rubbed the bridge of his nose, the headache from earlier coming back like a vengeance.

"See, that's why I didn't want to tell you ..."

"Oh yeah, you were going to lie to me until when? Again Steve! You had promised not to lie to me about your health." A sob escaped Danny's lips and Steve felt his own eyes watering.

"I didn't want to worry you about something that we don't even know is going to happen ..."

"You even told me that they are almost 100% sure that something is going to happen ..."

"Yes, but it can be something we're going to deal with together, it doesn't have to be catastrophic, it wasn't a fatal expose."

"But it was bad enough to give you symptoms, which you deliberately hid from me, yet again."

"I can't stand to see you suffer Danny, and I knew it was going to break you, like that!" Steve screams, pointing to the miserable, tear-stained form that was his lover.

It was then that Steve noticed the phone in Danny's hands and sighed. Surely he was not calling anyone, not at this time of day. He was probably researching about the subject.

"You know you shouldn't be researching it on the internet, right?"

"Oh no? And who would tell me what to expect? Apparently not you, because I'm not trustworthy enough even though I'm your husband."

"You don't understand!" Steve shouted and got up to walk closer to the sea.

"What do I not understand? That you may die in the next ten years, or may God spare us, before and didn't you tell me?"

"I'm terrified, okay?" He screamed and turned to Danny.

"I still don't know how to deal with it, right? With the huge risk of dying of cancer! Leukemia, tumor or whatever! You think I want to die because of the stunts I pull in cases, but every time I take the physical risk I know I can do it and now with this I have no idea and have no control of my life so it scares me."

Then he collapsed in the sand, his shoulders shaking with sobs as the water bathed his bare feet and Danny felt like shit.

Like shit to shouting at Steve.

Like shit for not being able to keep Steve from getting contaminated while disarming the bomb.

Like shit for being cowardly enough to leave Steve alone that day while he saved the island and put his life on the line without a second thought.

Like shit for not being able to take the pain out of the man he loved, as he always did.

Like shit for not understanding why the hell of life could not give them a damn break.

Danny then collapsed beside him, hugged him and cried together for no one knows how long.

* * *

None of them had a ready answer.

None of them knew what was going to happen.

It was certain that something was going to happen, but it was hell not to imagine what or when.

But something Danny could guarantee:

"We'll go through this together babe, I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I know, because you're the only one who loves me enough for it."

"Oh I'm not the only one, you have a lot of people who would give the life for you, your schmuck."

Steve smiled. It was true. He had made great friendships along the way.

"I love you." Danny said, stroking the tear-stained face of his husband.

"I love you, too, Danno. More than myself."

"I know, and I love you more and I hate you more every day for that."

They then got up and Danny dragged his husband into the bedroom, because that's what they do, they take care of each other, despite the fights, the problems and the difficulties.

He just hoped the universe would let them be happy for over fifteen minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I did not warn you that the first part was Danny's dream, but if I said that before I started, all the suspense would be lost, would not it?
> 
> I hope you're not hating me after that =)


End file.
